Fall Protection Part 4

Safe Operating Practice
Pre Job Hazard Assessment (PJHA) – The fall hazards and suspension trauma potential must be reviewed prior to starting the work as part of the PJHA. Based on the results of the PJHA, where there is no guardrail and there is a danger of a worker falling: 3 m or more in Alberta and Saskatchewan, or 7.5 m or more in British Columbia, a Fall Protection Plan must be developed before the work begins, reviewed with workers and make available at the worksite while work is in progress.

The Fall Protection Plan must be attached to the PJHA once the work is completed. If conditions affecting fall protection change, work must be stopped and the PJHA and Fall Protection Plan must be reviewed and updated.

Fall Protection Systems
A Fall Arrest System is used to stop a worker’s fall before they hit the ground, an object, or a level below the work area. Fall restraint system is arranged so that a worker cannot fall lower than the surface on which the worker was supported before the fall started.

The personal fall arrest system must limit the maximum arresting force on a worker to 6 kilonewtons (AB) or 8kN (BC, SK) and the lanyard must be secured to an anchor no lower than shoulder height or a high as reasonably practicable.

Alberta OHS Reg.
In AB, the fall arrest system must limit the maximum arresting force on a work to 6 kN unless the worker is using an E6 type shock absorber, in which case the maximum arresting force must not exceed 8kN.